Hudson Clean Energy Partners, a firm run by former high-ranking Goldman Sachs Group and Credit Suisse Group bankers, has halted fundraising for its second fund, VentureWire has learned. The Teaneck, N.J.-based firm, co-managed by Neil Auerbach and John Cavalier, originally targeted a second fund of about $1.5 billion. The firm has mostly tapped out its first, $1.02 billion fund, closed in 2009, and has begun downsizing its large team to manage costs.

Covenant Surgical Partners has closed on $35 million in a Series C round that could grow as large as $38 million, as it prepares to acquire and operate ten new surgery centers in the coming year, the company told VentureWire. The funding, which closed last month, was provided by DFW Capital, Pine Bridge Capital and Iroquois Capital Group, all returning investors, said Rick Jacques, Covenant’s chief executive.

Also in today’s VentureWire, Swiss investor Aravis plans to capitalize on the shortage of early-stage capital for European health-care startups by raising a 100 million euro biotechnology venture fund, VentureWire has learned…Bright Funds raised $350,000 in convertible debt to tap into a new generation of charitable givers who are accustomed to conducting their business online, VentureWire has learned…and Cars.com and Castrol innoVentures have invested $13 million in RepairPal, a San Francisco startup that has built a comprehensive database of pricing information, and reviews by technical teams of auto mechanics and auto-repair businesses.

(VentureWire is a daily newsletter with comprehensive analysis of all the investments, deals and personnel moves involving startups and their venture backers. For a two-week trial, visit our homepage, scroll to the bottom and click “try for free.”)

Elsewhere around the Web:

Neil Capel, CEO of recommendation engine Sailthru, tells Wall Street Journal blog Digits about his company, which just raised $19 million to feed its growth. Benchmark Capital provided the money.

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